Journalists’ Best Stories of the Year 2018

2018 was a very eventful , with stories coming in from all over the place. There were some highs, some lows, and a whole bunch of news in between.

As the year draws to an end, we asked our journalists to look back at the year and share the stories that interested them the most.

Here’s what they had to say.

Journalist’s Pick:

Byron Pillay

2018 has been a year of highs and lows for our newsroom. Two stories which I covered, bore testament to this. The stories ironically, were days apart, but revolved around the same thing; how visitors were treated in South Africa.

Slavko

The first story centred around missing Chilean National, Slavko Yaksic. Slavko originally came to South Africa with his girlfriend to visit the county.After she left, Slavko stuck around, sleeping at local missions or on the streets, trying to get a feel for South Africa.

Sadly though, after leaving Dundee, he was not seen or heard from again.

When we heard about the story, it became a calling as such to try and find him, to try to give hope to the family and to try to do a good deed and make a difference.

There was always hope that he would be found safe, especially when new information came to light that we was spotted days after leaving Dundee.

But sadly the tale came to a tragic end when his dead body was found in Ladysmith.

It was incredibly heartbreaking to learn that all the while we were asking people to look for him and pray for him, he was already dead, laying in a field, lost to the world around him.

Follow the story here: Have you seen Slavko?

Peace Walk

Ironically the news of Slavko’s death reached my ears a day after I interview four men from India and one from Japan who were walking from Johannesburg to Mvezo via Durban.

Nitin Sonawane, Jalandhernath Channole, Ikedahe, Sangram Patil and Yogesh Mathuria were inspired to come to South Africa because of Gandhi and Mandela, two great men who spread their message of peace in the country.

They spoke fondly of the reception they received while in South Africa and how open and accepting everyone had been.

They also spoke of the desire to promote peace and love and how everyone should care for one another, because we are all human at the end of the day.

Their message was inspirational and left me with a hope that there is still good in the world and that we can all make a difference if we try.

Both stories were also a reminder that life is meant to be lived to the fullest and it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you are happy doing it.

Read the story here.

Journalist’s Pick,
Fathima Zubane

Another ID terror story: wrong ID number

Working on this story really touched my heart as the sickly elderly man with no family could not get any help from the Department of Social Services or the Department of Home Affairs.

Mr Osborn Gaza could not hold back his tears during our interview and I could really tell that we were his last hope at receiving any help. He grew up in a foster care facility with no family.

After publishing his story, Mr Gasa came back to the Courier to thank me for assisting him as he was contacted by SASSA to get pension for 12 months. This has helped him immensely as he is now able to buy food and make ends meet.

This story stood out the most for me because I was able to change Mr Osborn’s life for the better and, even though he still hasn’t got the correct ID, he is able to put food on his table.

His life has become better as he is now able to take all his meds on a full stomach.

‘My wheelchair changed my life for the better’ says Siyanda

Siyanda Khumalo is living his life to the fullest despite the fact that he cannot walk. Even though he is disabled he is still able help the youth in his area, he is a founder of  an NPO that helps the youth to keep off the streets by coming together to showcase their talent.

The saddest part about Siyanda’s journey is that he cannot reach his full potential as he is solely dependent on sponsorship to run his NPO.

Siyanda is a God-fearing young man who does not let his disability stop him from helping those close to him.

What stood out the most for me during our interview is that he is carefree and he is so ambitious about his dreams and his community.

Siyanda Khumalo is surely one of a kind and with his passion and dedication he can achieve a lot in his community.

The Northern Natal Courier looks forward to giving you even more content in the New Year.